Designed for Community: An Interior Designer Leans into the Power of ‘We’

Do a Google search for “Immigrant Food” in Ballston, Virginia, and you’ll see a vibrant restaurant showcasing palettes of color as well as patterns and textiles representing the myriad immigrant cultures that make up the American tapestry. The restaurant has become a symbol of cultural exploration and advocacy with its fusion-inspired flavor creations and positive engagement with immigrant communities. Behind the aesthetic of this space is George Fox interior design alumna Jules Stafford. 

Jules, an interior designer with DesignCase, has a particular affinity for this project. “It feels like part of my heart in this whole restaurant, even though I was just part of the designing process,” she says. For Jules, Immigrant Food represents more than an excellent place for folks to hang out and try unique dishes; it’s an extension of her love for community. 

As a bi-cultural woman who grew up in a large family with Mexican and Filipino roots, Jules knows what it’s like to hold the tension between cultures. Her work as an interior designer showcases her skill in moving between cultural milieus. But for Jules, her work, while showcasing her design skills and cultural fluency, also represents a passion for creating hospitable spaces for diverse communities to come together. “I love giving to the community so they can share and live intentionally,” she says. “This is what’s so important about hospitality.”

Hospitality, as Jules sees it, also involves creating new spaces for established communities that may benefit from revitalization. Jules highlights the good in creating reimagined spaces for communities to thrive. “Part of being a responsible designer is looking at who it benefits, who it’s serving, who it's for, and taking that into consideration when designing the space.”

Jules’ work with DesignCase also engages the community through pro bono projects. DesignCase recently revamped teacher lounges for a local K-12 public school, creating intentional spaces on each floor of the three-story school building for elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Jules reflects on how it felt to see the teachers step into the lounges for the first time. 

“They invited us back to do a grand opening, and all the teachers and the principal talked about what the space means to them – that they now have this community space and how special it is. It happened on every single floor. My boss and I were tearing up.”

Jules sees these opportunities as a way to steward her God-given gifts, bolster community, and create spaces that honor the people her work seeks to serve. 

A Road Less Traveled 

Growing up in Hesperia, California, with four siblings and many cousins, Jules knows about the power of community. From an early age, she regularly helped her large extended family plan celebrations and events. “Growing up, when it came to birthday parties or holidays with my family, I was the one who knew what everyone was bringing,” she recalls. “I knew what time everything started and what I needed to prepare.”

As she entered high school, her gift for hospitality and planning extended into a new arena: interior design. Jules recalls a trip to a store where her friend’s mom asked, “What do you think of this flooring?” Eventually, Jules helped redesign their entire home.

After finishing high school and setting her sights on a four-year university, Jules faced unique barriers as a first-generation student of color. “I’m a first-generation student, but to take it further, my parents didn’t go to college, my grandparents didn’t, my aunts and uncles didn’t, and my older cousins, minus one, didn’t go to college. So it was cumbersome for me and my family to think about college.”

Jules also found herself at a crossroads of faith in her university decision. Did her future point towards a school with an established design program or a faith-based focus? As she would soon see, God had a plan that included both. Jules' brother suggested she look northward to schools in Oregon, though she had never visited the state. She found George Fox and the Mosaic Scholars Program, a leadership development program built around the Act Six and Multicultural Leader Scholarships. 

Unwavering Support

But as Jules discovered, even with the support she found at George Fox, taking the nearly 1,000-mile trip northward would invite her to lean into her faith and trust in God and community to develop her deep resilience further.

At first, the transition to George Fox was fraught. While many of Jules’ classmates had families nearby with the resources to support them financially and emotionally, Jules found herself hundreds of miles away from the only home she’d ever known, asking herself if it was all too much.

After the first two weeks, she decided to step back, overwhelmed by her decision to pursue a private college education. But the associate director of multicultural development at the university at the time, Bryce Coefield, wasn’t willing to give up on Jules. “We sat in hour-long meetings, and he brought in Jenny Elsey, the director of Title IX. They said, ‘Let’s see if there are any other options before you make this big leap.’” 

Bryce asked Jules for 24 hours. And in 24 hours, Bryce delivered. “He gave me a list of options and said, ‘I want you to stay. It’s possible.’” Jules was blown away by the support.

With a purchased plane ticket and a plan to leave, Jules found herself at an inflection point. Would she let her fear of the unknown keep her from moving toward her dream? Or would she lean into vulnerability and support to see what God might have on the other side of what felt like a huge risk?

“As I boarded the plane home, I said, ‘I should not be doing this.’ I let fear take control of my life.” 

Throughout her two weeks at home, Jules stayed in contact with Bryce and Jenny, who continued to encourage and resource her.

Leaning into her resilience and trust in God, Jules decided to take another leap of faith and return to her classes. 

Once again, God showed up through community. A listing on Bruin Boards offered a nanny position with a room in exchange for nannying hours with George Fox’s women’s volleyball coach, Emily Davis.

“We came to this deal together, which gave me a whole extra year at Fox because they blessed me and let me stay at their home,” Jules says. “I’m still close with them. I love their family!”

Jules also found support in Casey Martin, her professor in the interior design program. Casey helped her decide to stay in the program when things got difficult but also helped her connect with a job when her first job fell through. “One time I called Casey crying, and within an hour, she was at a coffee shop with me, presenting me with all my options and telling me I was going to be OK.” 

Through her on-the-ground connections with industry professionals in Portland, Casey loves to connect students with opportunities that help them hone their unique skills. Her goal as the director of internships and practicum experiences is to partner with George Fox on design projects that also give her students real-life project experience. But more than that, she loves to support her students, providing what they need for the journey, whether job connections, a mentor in the industry, or simply a friend. 

“One of my biggest goals is to uplift my students in whatever way they need,” Casey says. “Jules was already a really talented designer, and in our time at Fox, she was looking for the right place in the design world and I think she found it!”

The community that Jules discovered at Fox included not only the staff and faculty who cheered her on and provided tangible support, but also her peers in the interior design program. 

During one competition, Jules realized that what distinguished their team was their commitment to one another.

“One thing that stuck out about the program was that we had each other’s backs. It was always, ‘That’s my friend. That’s my partner. And we’re not going to let each other down.’ It was a real community, and it came with real friends.”

Jules recalls the joy of sharing the news after the last final of the last class of her undergraduate career that DesignCase, the D.C. firm with whom she was most eager to sign on, had offered her a job.

As her interior design classmates jumped up and down, screaming and hugging, Jules realized this was a communal celebration. A win for one of them was a win for all of them.

“It was a celebration for so many reasons. It was a celebration for finishing my finals, graduating and knowing God had his way in all of it.” 

The Future is Bright

Now in her second year working with DesignCase, Jules reflects on the road that has brought her here. “There’s no part of me that questions the road I took. There’s no doubt that this is what I’m supposed to be doing.” 

She also understands the influence of community, not only in her own story but also as it impacts responsible design.

“It’s easy to get pigeonholed into one idea. But when we work together, we can ask, ‘Why don’t you think about it from this perspective? Why don’t you include this?’ We had that kind of back-and-forth, sharing knowledge and stories throughout all four years. We asked, ‘How can we make each other better? How can we make our projects better?’ In the end, it was about collaboration and community. We need all of the stories and perspectives; otherwise, we will end up with a very flat project, and that’s not the goal.”

And Jules believes in the power of small organizations to make significant impacts.

Though she had opportunities at larger firms, Jules chose DesignCase because it allows her to focus on choosing projects that make a tangible difference in her local community. And she found this to be true at George Fox as well. 

“Just because we’re a small school doesn't mean we can’t do big things,” she says. 

As Jules moves into the next chapter of her story, she hopes to encourage other first-generation students of color to lean into the unknown, trust God, and imagine a future she once struggled to imagine for herself. 

“If my story can help one person … That's enough for me.” 

Jules’ work as an interior designer highlights the beauty of community and celebrates diversity. And her story preaches, showing us how to trust that we’re being woven into the tapestry of a bigger story – one that helps others be known for their good and God’s glory.